Caste, region, Modi factor crucial in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency

Tribune News Service

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, May 1

The Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency is set to witness a tough contest between BJP’s sitting MP Dharambir Singh and Congress MLA from Mahendragarh Rao Dan Singh.

As per political analysts, the caste and region of the candidates, apart from pro and anti-Modi sentiments, are the crucial factors in this constituency. Rao Dan Singh comes from Mahendragarh while Dharambir Singh belongs to Bhiwani. Till now, prominent leaders from Bhiwani belt have been getting elected from the constituency while it is for the first time that the Congress has fielded a leader from Mahendragarh from the constituency. Hence, the voters of the Mahendragarh belt may vote enthusiastically to have their representative in the Lok Sabha this time.

Congress candidate and late CM Bansi Lal’s granddaughter Shruti Choudhry had won the seat in 2009 General Election held soon after the creation of the constituency in 2009. However, she lost in 2014 and 2019 to BJP’s Dharambir Singh.

This time, the Congress leadership decided to field Mahendragarh MLA Rao Dan Singh from the constituency. Rao Dan Singh is banking on the support of the Ahir community, to which he belongs. Apart from it, he expects to get the backing of Jat voters, a majority of whom are apparently resentful towards the BJP.

On the other hand, Dharambir Singh has won the seat for two consecutive terms and cannot be written off easily. Apart from the support of the voters of his community (Jat), he is relying upon the votes of those inclined towards the BJP, especially PM Modi. Though Ahirs are said to be tilted towards the BJP, they also feel a pull towards Rao Dan Singh, who belongs to their community.

Similarly, a majority of the Jats appear to be against the BJP, but ultimately, they may not ignore the fact that BJP candidate Dharambir Singh is from their community. “It will be interesting to note whether the voters make their decision on party lines or on the basis of the caste or region of the candidates,” say analysts. The rift between the Congress candidate Rao Dan Singh and former MP Shruti Choudhry (and her mother Kiran Choudhry) may also be a key factor as Shruti and Kiran have distanced themselves from Rao’s poll campaign so far.

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